There were some real surprises this week. First of all, The Showstoppers finally showed up to play and handily destroyed Roger’s Syringe in the only game I predicted incorrectly. (Dylan now owes Matt Mc a round.) Secondly, the Boston Braves were beaten by a girl, by just under 100 points. Ouch. And finally, we may have seen the emergence of Mybestefforts as a solid team.

So since last week’s predictions were so popular, here are my picks for Week 6. But before I start, let’s see who is still the only undefeated team in the league, oh… there it is, the one, the only Yankeehaters.

Love Boat Captains (4-1) vs. The Showstoppers (2-3)
My initial reaction to this game was that The Showstoppers were going to beat the Love Boat Captains in a nail-biter. CBS Sportsline seemed to agree to it being close as well, predicting a 390-388 win for LBC. But after careful review, I have determined that there is no way in hell the The Showstoppers will win this one. Showstopper hitters David Wright, Ryan Braun, and Grady Sizemore are coming alive at the plate, but I feel the geezer combo of Andy Petitte and Randy Johnson are going to be no match for the extremely deep pitching staff of the LBCs. The LBCs could afford to improve their catcher, but that’s like throwing deck chairs off the Titanic, it doesn’t really matter.Prediction: Love Boat Captains 355-320

Boston Braves (3-2) vs. Yankeehaters (5-0):
I would have been worried if these two teams played last week, but after seeing the Boston Braves get whipped by a girl, my anxiety has been relieved. I know the Braves’ Man-Ram, Aramis Ramirez, and the whole pitching staff underperformed last week. But after looking at his lineup, I’m kind of surprised that this team is above .500. Team Yankeehaters, on the other hand, had a poor performance by most of the pitchers and still won by 45 points. Those performances will not be repeated this week. Also, with the triumphant return of Jimmy Rollins later this week, the rich are getting richer. This will be a blow-out.Prediction: Yankeehaters 390-278

Chickenheads vs. Roger’s Syringe
I though about ignoring this game this week, since both teams are in the midst of big losing streaks, but someone is going to come out of this game a winner, so let’s see how they stack up. First up, Chickenheads. How is it that a team with Mauer, Pujols, A-Rod, Hardy, Beltran and a better-than-average pitching staff stinks it up so bad? I have no idea, but I don’t think that it’s going to take much to beat Roger’s Syringe this week.

Speaking of Roger’s Syringe, the too-many-shortstops-and-middle-relievers experiment has officially failed. The good news is that there is still time to turn it around. Here are some free tips guaranteed to improve your team: #1, Release Julio Lugo and Orlando Cabrera. No one is going to trade for either one of these guys. If something happens to your starting SS, you will be able to find an adequate replacement via free agency. #2, Release Manny Corpas and Hideki Okajima. These two guys have not had the save opportunities that people expected. They put up low points and are taking up roster spots. #3, Make a trade for a couple of decent pitchers. You have a few trading chips on your team and there are some good alternatives out there. Make some adjustments before it’s too late. You have a rematch with The Showstoppers on May 26th, your chance to shut Matt up.Prediction: Chickenheads 328-255

MyBestEfforts 3-2 vs. Bostonbad boys 1-4
Since MyBestEfforts has been turned over to new management, they have looked pretty impressive. Riding a two-game winning streak, they face perennial losers Boston (not so) bad boys. CBS Sportsline is predicting a BBB win. There is no way in hell that this is going to happen. MyBestEfforts is getting solid production from the entire lineup, although I’m interested to see how they replace the injured Troy Tulowitzki in the lineup. Even without him, this is a walk in the park. Bostonbad boys stink.Prediction: Mybest efforts 348-310

SarasotaRedRays vs. Lessthanzero
This is thefoulline.com game of the week. After another impressive week, I’m starting to think that the SRR hitters may be for real. I think that the SRR are going to regret giving up on Johnny Cueto so early, especially after a poor performance from their pitching staff this week, but I do appreciate them dropping him. LTZ has been getting good numbers from everyone in the lineup. Dropping Phil Hughes and getting Eric Bedard off the DL is going to pay huge dividends. If SRR’s astronaut players return to earth this week, it could be a blow-out. If not, it should be a fun one to watch.Prediction: Lessthanzero 370-362

These are my predictions. I would love to hear your comments. Please keep them clean.

And with that, Dave will continue to write the predictions well into the playoffs.

Well, I didnt think it would be as big of a blow out as it was but it sure was sweet. And as for the Geezer Tandem, I am trying the Boston Braves Strategy with a little bit of my own. By this I mean, picking up decent 2 start pitchers for a week, dropping them for others and then using my closer combo as a good support to the staff. Even if Pettitte and Johnson split the week with 1-1 each, thats still almost 60 pts out of 2 guys. The Unit is still a Strikeout Machine, and Pettitte is pitching against the annemic Indians and Tigers this week. Its worth a shot, 2 closers and 9 starts.

I was shocked that CBS Sportsline gave me that much credit against LoveBoats. 2 pts? Wow.

I hope everyone likes my new logo thing Ive got going. Last week it brought me good JuJu vs Roger’s Syringe this week I hope a bit of the same with Steamboat Willie at the helm of the LoveBoat.

Heres to another week of me hopefully climbing back into this thing.

And Boston Badboys, you have no shot. Accept it and start making deals with Dylan, maybe fold one team and combine into “Roger’s Mistresses” Then either of you may have a shot.

Hey Matt,
Nice performance last week against Roger’s Syringe. You are going to have your hands full this week, but it might be closer than I originally thought. I’m not sold on the 2 start pitcher roullette. I think it’s better to gather a staff of solid pitchers and hope for consistent points each week. The 2 start addd/drop pitcher is a risky move. ( i.e. Boston braves Kevin Millwoods -4 pts. yesterday) I’m surprised that I haven’t heard from your dad after I called him out on yesterdays post. Maybe he’s finally coming to terms with the fact he may not have the best team in the McLaughlin house. Your team is playing good, unfortunately you are playing a really good team this week. It should be interesting.

Dave( I can’t believe that I have three objections to the Vlad/Pedroia trade….he offered the trade to me.) Ingalls

Ok. Im a bit hammered right now after a solid Miracle comeback win and POST GAME Celebration, yet I can type in coherent sentences and proper grammar. In the immortal words of the great baseball flick “Little Big League”

“Bite me.”

Now with that said, Dave I would have to trade half of my team at this point to get a decent pitching staff. Its hard to have both a decent lineup and pitching staff, and the teams with both are pretty obvious. The problem is I am partical to Twins. I mean they pay me and all and there is no way I am trading Morneau. Unless of course the price is right.

And as for the Vlad the Impailer trade, come on. Vlad vs Dped. I mean DPed is on fire yes, and he is a solid player at his position, but Vlad is a perrenial Triple Crown candidate. Yes, I said it, Triple Crown. Yaz, may he live until the day someone wins it because it will NEVER happen, but Vlad is that kind of guy that can or could. DPed on Steriods and HGH couldnt touch Vlad with a hangover. Sorry, but The Vlad Zone is impressive, plus I have offered Dylan 3 players COMBINED for Vlad with more value than DPed alone, and he has turned me down. I cant see letting Dylan make his team worse, its already abizmal.

And as for the BadBoys, when was the last time you won a game? I cant wait to play you and take a week off from actually putting effort or a care into my lineup.

Have I mentioned yet that Dylan made the Vlad trade offer to me? I can’t control trades that have been offered and not accepted by either participant. At the time of the trade offer, Pedroia was putting up big numbers, and Dylan needed to upgrade his second baseman. Although Vlad is a Hall of Famer, he started the season slow,and was in the midst of a 3-44 slump Dylan’s team has a good outfield, and it was a position of strength for him. I don’t know what you offered Dylan in a trade, but you know that he has a soft spot in his heart for Red Sox players.

Good news Matt! It looks like Hafner has broke out of his slump tonight. The bad news is that there is no way in hell that I’m trading for any of your bench-warming Yankees. If they aren’t good enough to start on your team, I’m not going to start them on mine. Good luck finding any takers.

hey Matt,
Your team ha been playing better the last couple of weeks, unfortunately LBC is playing really well right now. I’m currently working on a few trades that may make my team alot stronger. Fortunately, none of these deals include Yankees.

Matt,
I feel your sentiment, I was also hosed. Not to take anything away from the Braves performance this week, but I was really hoping my 3 starting pitchers would have a chance to pitch today. Damn you Mother Nature! Oh well, I had to lose sometime. On a positive note, I’ll have Josh Beckett, Johan Santana, Mark Texiera,and Mike Lowell on next weeks roster ( provided my trades don’t get anymore objections).
All the teams are looking pretty good this week. It will make for an interesting week in review in tomorrows post.

Welcome to reality, Manny didnt even play tonight and I beat you. I was disappointed with Lowells performance considering hes packing tommorow. I find it very easy to veto trades that favor the top team in the league and will continue to do so your team is way to good. Mother nature was good to me. Does anybody want Kevin Millwood.
you should have signed your last comment “Dave no longer undefeated Ingalls” I dont normally brag but this win was real sweet.

Just look at the numbers put up today by my team. Had I gotten 15 pts a starter and 5 pts for my 2 sitting guys from Cleveland, LBC would have lost significantly to a last day comeback of OVER 100 pts. And to boot, Nathan is closing out the Sox right now for another 12-15 pts. Grr…

I sure hope you dont Dog me this week, but then again Bulletin Board material is always welcome.

Slow down there, Matt. Your assessment that my team would have “lost significantly” isn’t a hypothetical, it’s a fantasy. First of all, you’re giving 5 points to Hafner, who had 7 points on the entire week. Nathan just sweat and twitched his way to an 8.5-point (almost blown) save on the Sox, not 12-15. And if you’re going to stop the rain in Cleveland and Detroit, you need to give me clear skies in Pittsburgh for my last starter, who put up 25 in his first start this week.

I was with you earlier in that things would have been interesting without the rain today, and I agree that your hitters really turned it on this week and made for a close match, but let’s not get carried away.

Unless you can actually change the course of history, in which case please unbreak Vernon Wells’s wrist and feel free to call it a blowout.

Dave Mc,
You should be proud of yourself, you wanted to knock off the top dog and you did. Congrats.
It made for an interesting weekend, as I watched my 70 point lead slowly dwindle away. Oh well, I think I’ve addressed my weaknesses through some fair trades ( despite the objectors best efforts) and look forward to the rest of the season. It’s been fun so far.

Dave “still the best record in the league” Ingalls
A.K.A Dave ” My team is waaaaaaaay better than Matt’s 2-4 crummy team” Ingalls
A.K.A Dave ” Mike Jacobs 11 points this week. Mike Lowell 45 points this week. Maybe you should have objected to that trade” Ingalls

I just want to say that this season has been fun thus far. Good luck to all in the future except for Yankeehaters, Love boat captain, Showstoppers, Boston bad boys, Sarasotaredrays, lessthanzero,rogersyringe,Mybesteffort,and Chickenheads. I’m sorry did I miss anyone.